Lance: To Pennsylvania's Superior Court. Last week we learned that a 5-year-old Westmoreland County murder case was needlessly delayed. Evidently there was no record, at least until recently, that an appeal to the state's Superior Court was decided -- two years ago.
Prosecutors and the defense attorney say the court docket had been checked regularly. In fact, an assistant district attorney went to Pittsburgh last month to see for himself but found nothing. It wasn't until he called court officials afterward that he learned the defense appeal had been denied; prosecutors last week received from the court a one-page fax, dated Feb. 2, 2001.
This, we remind, is a pending capital murder case. The appeal should not have fallen through the cracks.
It's also the second time in recent weeks that court delays have made the news; previously, a Westmoreland County judge, citing disregard of the state's speedy trial law, tossed out two cases. The defense attorney for Steven M. Sistek of Ligonier Township says he'll raise the same speedy trial argument is this case, in which Sistek is accused of killing his 3-year-old stepson.
In these cases justice is not being served. It's being abridged .
Laurel: To Leslie F. Harvey, director of Greensburg's code enforcement department. Moved by the horrific club fire in Rhode Island that killed 98 people, Harvey conducted a surprise inspection of Bobby Dale's Restaurant & Lounge within 24 hours of the fatal blaze. He came up with nine violations of the city's fire prevention and building codes and ordered the club to reduce its capacity by 90 people. "I just decided (an inspection) was a good idea. I did not want to wait until we had a complaint," Harvey says.
An official with Bobby Dale's says the violations were promptly addressed.
What unfolded at The Station in West Warwick, R.I., should serve as a wake-up call to any business that accommodates the public, regardless if it serves alcohol, ice cream or tofu. Fire safety -- indeed, the public's safety -- comes first.
Lance: To Westmoreland County commissioners who signed off on the county's 2002 budget. The prison allocation fell nearly $1.3 million short. That's because of overcrowding at the lockup: "We can't control how many inmates come in," says Commissioner Tom Balya. Indeed that's true.
But for the past three years, and in increasing increments, prison operations have exceeded what the commissioners have budgeted. This year we're told the county has been "more realistic" with the prison allocation. That's swell. And what were the previous prison allocations supposed to be⢠Practice shots?
